‘Footboard heroes are zeroes in real life’ and ‘if you climb steps, you will succeed, but those who hang on it, will meet with failure’. The Chennai traffic police aim to deter students and others from travelling on bus footboards with these words.

On Monday, they distributed pamphlets to MTC commuters and conducted awareness campaigns in school, against the practice of footboard travelling. The campaign will continue till end of the month.

Last Monday, four students travelling on the footboard of a bus were crushed to death in an accident involving a lorry on Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

To create awareness on the dangers of footboard travelling, the traffic police units across the city have been asked to distribute pamphlets in areas that come under their respective jurisdictions.

“We are also conducting awareness campaigns in schools. Traffic policemen will also inform school authorities about their students caught travelling on the footboard,” said a senior police officer.

In accidents that took place in 2012 alone, 17 persons died and 51 suffered injuries due to footboard travelling. Meanwhile, many MTC deluxe buses continue to ply with open doors.

“Despite the accident, there seems to be little awareness among bus crew. The automatic doors continue to remain open. But, there seems to be a slight decrease in the number of students hanging by the footboard,” said Ezhilazhagan, a commuter on route 29C.

Just like how we put warnings in cigarette pack, just next to footboard on both sides there should be warnings with graphical images of lorry hitting footboard passengers on a bus! if that doesn't deter, god help them!

from:
Ranga

Posted on: Dec 20, 2012 at 20:45 IST

All foot board travellers are to be booked for a day"s in jail as a minor punishment and left them on a place where they have to walk back to their place with a photo to be taken and if they again repeat the punishment must be doubled.thereby footboard travelling can be discouraged for over.or there should be a conductor who close the door on both side before moving the bus,so that no foot board travelling can be done.

from:
vaidya

Posted on: Dec 19, 2012 at 05:45 IST

Why don't cine-stars campaign for this kind of issues. It's for sure, all foot-boarders should be sincere followers of some cine-actors..It can be made a campaign like tobacco control..

from:
Soman

Posted on: Dec 18, 2012 at 11:55 IST

Instead, the Govt. shall consider implementing automatic doors to all buses. Not a costly investment in my opinion. The expenses on such doors, could be achieved within a week's collection.